An Orphan's Thanksgiving
by ladyd10
Summary: Thanksgiving at the Lab...bad summary, better story. Just a easy holiday one-shot


_**A/N: This was inspired by my friends, Andrea and Allen who hold for their extend (non-blood related family) an orphan's New Year's. It's on New Year's Day for everyone they know that have family too far away to travel to and anyone else that just wants to come over and have fun. Even though I have family in the area, we don't have a New Year's Day party, so I've gone by Allen and Andrea and it's been a complete pleasure every year. **_

_**The Orphan's Thanksgiving**_

The break room was full of chatter and laughter the first thing in the morning two weeks before Thanksgiving. Colorful cornucopias and comedic cartoon turkeys decorated the room, adding to the festive air. A fresh basket of fruit sat on the central table and the smell of cafe Cubano filled the air. As Calleigh entered, she could smell fresh, warm cinnamon buns. She inhaled deeply and smiled, heading for the source of the mouth-watering aroma.

"Cinnamon bun, Calleigh?" Natalia asked, holing out the tray.

Calleigh broke into a bright smile. "Yes, please. Thank you, Nat. Did you make them?"

"Not today. I stopped a t Cinnabon. I drove by and they smelled so impossibly good that I had to stop and get some for everyone," she admitted guiltily. "I know it's not going to do anyone's waistline any good, but I couldn't help myself."

Calleigh chewed her mouthful of warm sweet and spicy roll before speaking. "My waistline does not thank you but I certainly do. I'll run an extra mile tomorrow morning to make up for it."

Natalia smiled at her as Ryan walked over, greeting them. "So, what are everyone's plans for Thanksgiving?"

"Nothing much. I'm the only one in my family here and I guess I'll do what I did last year and work Thanksgiving," Natalia said. "It'll give someone with family a day to spend it with them."

"Didn't we all do that last year?" Calleigh asked.

Ryan nodded."Yeah, and the year before that and the year before that. We are pathetic."

"Speak for yourself....Oh wait, you were," Eric said, joining the knot. "What are we talking about?"

"How we're all spending Thanksgiving working, which you're not because you have actual family to spend the day with," Calleigh said, a wistful tone in her voice. True, she had her father, but he was going to be working in his office, preparing his case files for the next day. She might as well be by herself again. Sometimes being so independent came at a high price around the holidays. "So we're spending the holiday protecting the people of Miami."

"Shift is over at three; you could still do something," Eric said, feeling particularly bad for his friends.

Horatio joined the group, bringing Tara over as well. "Talking Thanksgiving plans?"

"Or not as the case may be," Natalia said. "None of us but Eric have any plans or really any family to spend the day with."

"Nobody has family in Miami?" Tara asked. She hardly knew anyone and had just assumed that they all had families around them and thought that she was the only one who wasn't a Miami native and all on her own.

Horatio eyed his team before speaking. "But you all do have family here. We all do. We have each other."

A sudden thought struck Calleigh. "Listen, Horatio, can I have Thanksgiving Day off?"

"If you really need it."

"Oh, I do. When I was in college a lot of us stayed at school for the holiday just because it was such a far way to travel home for just a couple of days. I usually stayed because the drive back to Darnell was hideously long. So a group of us all got together and spent Thanksgiving together. We called it An Orphan's Thanksgiving. It was always a lot of fun and no one felt lonely. So, I want to continue that here. I don't know why I never thought about it before. After shift I want everyone to come over and have Thanksgiving dinner at my place. My idea, so I host the first one,' Calleigh explained at length, already making a shopping list in her mind.

Horatio grinned. "That....that sounds like a wonderful idea, Calleigh. I'll bring the pumpkin pie."

"Nobody brings a thing but an appetite," Calleigh said sternly.

"Well, that's good because I burn water," Ryan said.

"Yeah, but you eat like an elephant," Eric said, chuckling. "Do I get to come, even if I'm not an "orphan"?"

Calleigh gave him a warm smile. "Of course you do. You're part of this family, too. But won't your mom be upset?"

"No, we eat early and then just hang out and watch football all day," Eric said. "We may be Cuban and Russian, but some things you just adopt. I know you said that no one brings a thing, but how about a friendly game of football? I'll bring the ball."

"Who's playing football?" Frank asked.

"We are at Calleigh's on Thanksgiving," Ryan said. "You have plans?"

"Naw. I'm divorced, remember? Melissa has the kids on Thanksgiving. I get them for Christmas. Calleigh, do you mind if I join you?" Frank asked.

"The more, the merrier, Frank. I'd love to have you come, too," Calleigh said happily. She was going to be doing a lot of cooking, but she couldn't be more excited. The prospect of cooking for the people she loved the most in the world practically made her glow in delight. "You know, I'm really looking forward to this."

"I think we all are, too," Horatio said as his pager went off, signifying a crime scene in need of investigating. "I just hope you can cook."

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The smells were heavenly as Natalia approached Calleigh's front door. There was the unmistakable aroma of fresh bread mingling with the spicy and sweet smell of holiday pie. The scent most conspicuously absent, however, was that of roasting turkey. She rang the bell.

The door swung open and the mouth-watering aromas intensified. "Hey, Nat, come on in. Happy Thanksgiving," Calleigh said brightly.

"It smells so good in here,' she commented, entering and looking around.

"Thanks. I sort of pulled out all the stops for today. This is going to be a good old Southern Thanksgiving meal. I don't know how to do it any other way. I hope you like greens and macaroni and cheese because that's always been on the menu for me," Calleigh chatted. "Would you like something to drink or a snack? I have about a million different appetizers so help yourself to as much as you like. Dinner will be at six. Gives the guys time for a little football to work up their appetites."

Natalia settled herself at the kitchen table and reached for a little artichoke dip as Calleigh placed a soft drink in front of her. "Thanks. Hey, I don't mean to sound rude, but where's the turkey?"

Calleigh grinned at her, mischief in her eyes. "In the fridge, marinating. Dinner is at six, remember? I don't need to even think about the bird until around 4:30."

"But...but"

Calleigh's laughter pealed out. "Relax, Nat. This is a Louisiana Thanksgiving. You're getting deep fried turkey. It's an old Cajun thing. And, since it's absolutely beautiful out, I thought that we might just eat outside and enjoy the weather. It's not like I don't have a big enough yard."

"Are you sure you don't want a little help? You must be making a mountain of food for everyone," Natalia asked. "That's a lot of work to ask one person to do."

"I've done it before and with a less accommodating kitchen."

Natalia looked around and took in the state of the art of the kitchen. "You know, I'd forgotten how amazing this kitchen is."

Calleigh returned her attention to the vat of mashed potatoes just as the bell rang. "What can I say? I love to cook. Can you get the door for me, please?"

"Sure thing," she replied. She opened the door, letting Horatio and Tara in.

Tara looked around the living room, eyes wide at the understated luxury. "Wow, this is a far cry from my one bedroom apartment."

"It pays to be at the top of your field for an entire region of the country," Horatio replied, already making himself at home. "Calleigh, I brought Tara with me."

Calleigh came out of the kitchen with two glasses of sweet tea in her hands. "Happy Thanksgiving."

Tara accepted the beverage and smiled, suddenly a little uncomfortable. It was obvious that Natalia and Horatio had been there plenty of times. "Calleigh, your home is beautiful."

Her hostess's cheeks colored slightly. "Thank you. Would you like a little tour?"

Warmth rushed through the new M.E. "Yeah, I'd really like that."

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There was a spirited yell and then a sound of male bodies crunching into each other before rolling off across the lawn. The football game was in high gear, Frank using his size and surprising speed to his advantage. He and Eric were up by two touchdowns on Horatio and Ryan.

Calleigh laughed at the men behaving more like boys as she checked the progress of the turkey in the scorching oil. Frank had whooped with joy when he saw the turkey frying kit as he had exited out her patio doors. It was nearly done. She raised her voice. "Gentlemen, dinner will be on in a few minutes."

Frank stood up, helping peel Ryan off the grass. "That's good because I don't think these two could take much more of a beating."

"Yeah, yeah," Ryan grumbled. "I forgot you played college ball."

Horatio laughed and slapped the younger man on the back. "It's just for fun anyway."

By the time the men had cleaned up, the turkey was plated and ready and the sides filled the large folding table to the groaning point. Calleigh handed Horatio the carving knife. "Will you do the honors?"

He was taken aback. "Me?"

"You're our Lt., who better?" Calleigh replied with sincerity.

"Yeah, H, you're kind of the dad around here," Eric encouraged. His mouth was watering and he wished they'd just get on with it.

With his head ducked in acknowledgement, Horatio took the knife and began carving the turkey, parceling it out as he went along until everyone had their fill of the fragrant meat. The sides were passed around.

"Hey, uhm, shouldn't we say something about what we're thankful for?" Ryan asked.

Natalia nodded. "That's what Thanksgiving is all about. I'm thankful that I finally passed my firearms qualifications."

"I'm thankful that I'm finally back at the Lab. It was hard when all I did was fumble around from job to job," Ryan said quietly.

"I'm thankful I'm here and having a good time instead of holed up in my apartment with a T.V. Dinner," Frank said.

Tara spoke up. "I know I have big shoes to fill, but I'm thankful that you all accepted me as well as you have."

Eric's voice, normally so playful was deadly serious. "I'm thankful that I have another Thanksgiving to be alive."

Calleigh's eyes had filled with tears as Eric spoke. He could have died almost two years prior. "I'm thankful that you're all here today and that we could share this meal together."

Horatio looked around the table at the faces he had come to love over the years. "I'm thankful for all of you."


End file.
